“Hell No!”: Weeks After Citing Reason Behind $6 Billion Worth Network Deal, Charles Barkley Reinforces His Claim With Support From Renowned TV Personality

After officially putting an end to his basketball career in 2000, Charles Barkley donned his suit and dominated the NBA world as an analyst instead. The Phoenix Suns legend has been working as a basketball analyst for over two decades now and continues to be one of the most favored Inside the NBA co-hosts due to his entertaining antics. This particular trait of Chuckster, mixed with the ability to voice his raw opinions has brought him several offers in the past. However, the Hall of Famer has rarely considered working on a different show on a long-term basis up until recently.

In October 2022, Charles Barkley signed a 10-year contract extension worth over $100 million with TNT. Prior to that, Barkley’s previous contract, which fetched him $10 million per season, was set to expire after the 2024-25 season.

Charles Barkley is all set to host a new show

When the news of Charles Barkley’s next potential project first surfaced, Chuck had expressed his skepticism regarding the development and apparently, he was only considering it because of TV personality Gayle King. It has been about a month since he made the statement, and it seems like the prospect of working alongside King has finally made him say yes to the billion-dollar worth network.

In a recent episode of Inside the NBA, co-host Ernie Johnson announced that both Barkley and King will be co-hosting a show that is set to premiere this fall on CNN primetime. Johnson explained that it would be a “live hour-long weekly discussion show centering on the people in the events that are shaping our culture.” The show is called King Charles, derived from the new co-hosts’ first and last names.

When asked to give their thoughts on the show, King confessed that she wasn’t looking for another job at the time. Barkley responded in agreement and said, “When they said something, I said, ‘Hell no! I don’t wanna be on TV more.’ And then, when they first brought it up, they said, ‘What about Gayle?’ I was like, ‘Gayle who?’ They was like, ‘Gayle King.’ I said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll work with Gayle.'”

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Barkley is a fan of Gayle King

Several weeks ago, CNN reached out to Charles Barkley with the prospect of a new show. The reports first surfaced about two months ago and this did not sit well with the viewers of the Inside the NBA show. However, given that both TNT and CNN are owned by the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Barkley would not have to leave his current show in case he wanted to go forth with CNN.

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However, that was not a good reason enough for Barkley to consider taking up another project. Turns out, the 11x NBA All-Star is a huge fan of Gayle King. He said, “I’m not looking to get on TV even more. I’ve got so much love and respect for Gayle. She’s the only reason I’m even considering it.”

Are you looking forward to Barkley’s upcoming show? Let us know what you think about his next project in the comments below!